The relatively rapid rise of BeReal, which achieved 7.6 million downloads in 2022 alone, shows there is some appetite for alternative content. BeReal is a social media app that asks users to post unfiltered photos of themselves once a day.
Founded in January 2020 by French former GoPro employee Alexis Barreyat, BeReal claims to be ‘Not another social network’ by discouraging filters and capturing life as it is. Whether hosting the likes of Elon Musk and claiming to be an Instagram alternative will prove a further spur to growth remains to be seen.
The objective is to encourage people to be more authentic, instead of trying to present their best selves. is proof that authentic, unfiltered content is surging in popularity.
Connecting with Digital Journal to explore alternative media is Sprout Social’s CMO Jamie Gilpin. The expert considers on how brands can use BeReal’s growth to inspire their TikTok content and marketing strategies.
Gilpin explains that TikTok’s short-form video format and its young audience makes it the perfect platform to replicate the type of unfiltered content that made BeReal so popular.
Furthermore, says Gilpin, as companies create more in-depth marketing strategies on TikTok, Jamie can speak to what BeReal’s growth says about the content that will be most successful in reaching their audiences.
Gilpin continues: “Since the record-breaking rise of TikTok, brands have been searching for ways to create content that will break through and captivate the platform’s incredibly engaged and growing audience.”
With the new social media platform specifically, Gilpin observes: “BeReal gives us remarkable insight into what content wins these young consumers over. They want content that provides authentic, real and unfiltered glimpses into the lives of the people and brands they love.”
For business, Gilpin finds: “As marketers develop their content and influencer strategies on TikTok, they have a tremendous opportunity to separate themselves from their competitors by lifting the veil and giving their audiences the content they desire.”
